


the brotherhood

by anything_but_one_straight_line



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anything_but_one_straight_line/pseuds/anything_but_one_straight_line
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Gavroche and his brothers wonder if they are brothers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the brotherhood

“I don’t look anything like my dad. My mom, neither,” Gavroche heard Denis complain.

“That’s because you’re adopted, Denis…” Eugene said.

“Yeah, but you know whom I do look like? You and Gavroche.”

“That’s true. Tell you what, we’ll all chip in for a DNA kit, and we’ll all find out.”

“I’d love so much to have you and Gav as my big brothers.”

* * *

It seemed to Gavroche that the sun had always laser focused all of its heat onto this street. None of the other streets he had worked on had been this hot, not today, not yesterday, not ever. Every move of his furnished him with a fresh layer of sweat. Gavroche finished his work with the garage, clothes sticky with paint and skin sunburnt. 

Gavroche called for Mrs. Houcheloup.

“I’m done with the garage!”

“Gav – what – the garage? What about the garage?”

Mrs. Houcheloup stepped outside, and exclaimed, “ _Oh_ , Gavroche. This is really very sweet of you, but you didn’t have to paint our garage for us. On this hot day, too!”

Gavroche merely grinned, and Mrs. Hucheloup sighed, “Very well, Gavroche. How much will that be?”

“Twenty dollars, missus. Thank you.”

“Could I offer you a glass of wat–?” Mrs. Hucheloup started but Gavroche didn’t even hear her finish her sentence because he was dashing off to the playground.

* * *

There, he met Eugene and Denis.

Gavroche waved the twenty dollars in the air as he arrived.

“We’ve got twenty more dollars for the DNA kit!” Gavroche said, whooping as he came to the dirt field where Eugene and Denis were playing soccer. 

Forgetting the game, Denis cried, “That’s the last twenty!” He ran over to Gavroche, and Eugene, packing the ball away, also ran over. 

Gavroche laughed as they raced each other to the library computer terminals so they could order DNA kits, but suddenly, he felt sick to his stomach. What if they found out they weren’t brothers? Would Denis be able to handle it? He was so looking forward to it…

* * *

The results arrived within a month. Denis, to whom Gavroche had just lost five card games and now owed his entire stock of candy, heard the mailman put mail in the mailbox and squealed, “They’re here! The results are here!”

Gavroche, seeing Denis's excitement and fearing the results, let Denis get the mail. He couldn't have moved if he had wanted to move.

Denis opened all three letters, and laid them out on the floor, so that everyone would be able to read the letters. He squinted at the letters, but unable to read at that level, he instead stared at Gavroche and Eugene.

“Looks like we’re…” Eugene started, and Denis pounced on Eugene. 

“We’re _what_? We’re _what_?”

Eugene and Gavroche continued to read. Gavroche almost couldn’t read the letter – the combination of his dyslexia and his anxiety about disappointing Denis made him want to vomit, but Denis wanted to know and there was no way out of it now…

“Brothers,” Eugene and Gavroche said together, with relief. Eugene and Gavroche looked at each other in surprise, neither expecting the other to have experienced the same fear of the possibility of telling Denis they were not brothers. 

“I knew it! Of course we’re brothers. Look at our _hair_ ,” Denis crowed, pumping his fist. “You should have seen the looks on your faces. Gav couldn’t even get the mail, and you… you were reading so slowly. I’ve seen you read two pages in a minute, and that took you _four_.”

"I know, I know..." Eugene said.

Denis crawled in between Gavroche and Eugene, hugged them, and whispered, “We’re a  _family_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
